Tears of the Goddess
by Yasha-HebiHime
Summary: He never gave up. Ever. It was just how he was. But now that he's gone... is there any reason to keep resisting?


"Tears of a Goddess"

Summary: He never gave up. Ever. It was just how he was. But now that he's gone... is there any reason to keep resisting?

The rain poured down slowly onto the village of Konoha, taunting those that were gathering in the center of the village to honor the death of one of it's most famous and powerful Ninja...

Jiraiya of the Sannin.

It had just been revealed, just hours before, that Jiraiya had fallen to the hands of Pein, current ruler of Ame, the "Village Hidden in the Rain." Now civilians and Ninja alike were gathering, each garbed in a black outfit to honor the great Ninja, and author, that touched so many of their hearts.

And, in the front of all of these people gathering to honor him, was the one that he shared most of his life with. Tsunade, the fifth Hokage and one of the Sannin, stood in front of her villagers. Her people.

But her gaze was not locked on them.

She had eyes only for the picture below and the empty casket that was purely for show. No one could recover Jiraiya's body from it's resting place on the ocean floor, but perhaps that was for the best. It didn't help the pain Tsunade felt, but it would make sure Jiraiya's remains never fell into the wrong hands.

_'First Nawaki... Then Dan... and now you, Jiraiya.' _The Slug Princess thought with the smallest of smiles, though there was no happiness in it. _'I have to be strong for my people. My village, but you make it so hard Jiraiya. How am I supposed to lead... when you're not here to pick me up?'_ She was interrupted by the slightest of coughs from Shizune, her assistant.

The Hokage tore her gaze from the picture and turned around, finally staring down at the people gathered for his passing. Normally, there was no large ceremony unless there was a large number of losses or if the Hokage died... But Jiraiya was one of the oldest, and most powerful, Ninja that Konoha had to offer.

And now he was gone.

Tsunade nearly choked then and there at the thought. No more smiles, or perverted jokes. No more wise-cracks about "taking the princess to a nice castle." No more drinking games, where she would drink him under the table, only to lose at the following poker game.

Another cough interrupted her thoughts, and she turned her feelings aside. She had something to say to them, after all. She could cry later... and drown her sorrows in sake.

With a step forward, Tsunade opened her mouth to speak...

"People of Konoha..."

Meanwhile, in another part of Konoha, another blonde woman was making her way down the street, drawing the eye of many that she passed.

She was dressed in a traditional black garb, fit for a funeral of any scale, with the long sleeved shirt covering her large 'assets' and her slender legs being outlined nicely by the slim pants that left little to the imagination. Her hair was long and held in a tight ponytail by a black bow which glistened from the rain coating it. A pair of black heels held her feet, though they made no noise as they hit the ground.

But her figure alone did not draw the attention of those around her; it was her eyes. Bright sapphire with an endless depth, like the glistening ocean, was what was noticed the instant someone looked her way. They held nothing but despair, and it seemed the very air around her chilled from her loss.

Those that approached her were seemingly ignored and passed, as the woman was lost in her own thoughts.

_You never show any gratitude! Here I am, training you out of my own good will, and you won't do one thing for me!_

_Bah! Damn brat...Stubborn as always. That's fine though... I never give up, haha!_

A small smile appeared upon her face, just as a voice reached her ears...

"People of Konoha..." Blue eyes tore themselves from the ground, staring up at the tall form of the Fifth Hokage. The woman's smile grew as she took a spot at the back of the large crowd gathered, directly behind a brown haired man. The man gave her a curious look, before returning his attention back to the Hokage. "... Today, we are here to honor a great man, and an even greater Ninja. We are here to honor... Jiraiya of the Sannin. My teammate, and possibly one of the best Ninja this village has ever had." The Hokage's eyes were staring at the crowd, but everyone could tell she was looking at the past.

The blonde woman's smile grew even sadder as she listened to Tsunade speak, lost in her own memories.

_Come on! I won fair and square._

_No way! I'm not giving in. I don't give up either, ya know!?_

_Ha! True, but I've got years of experience in being persistent! How do you think I've lasted so long!?_

_Stubborn old fart!_

She chuckled softly, but collected herself as she realized Tsunade had began to speak again. "I cannot say how tragic a loss this is for Konoha, but our village will continue to grow... To live as he would have wished. He loved this village, just as we all do, but now it's up to us to make sure it stays. Konoha will live on, even if he does not."

The Hokage bowed her head, then turned around, taking a single rose out of the air, as if out of no where, and placing it in front of Jiraiya's picture. "May you rest in peace." She muttered, before stepping to the side.

One by one, Ninja and civilians alike repeated the Hokage's actions, each with varying words. Some were even colorful, yet still choked with loss, such as Kakashi Hatake's choked cry of "Who will tell me who Kimiko married now..?" Which got a soft round of chuckling from the crowd, though there was little humor to be had.

The last one, however, was the blonde woman who caught the eye of many on her way to the funeral... and the sudden loud tapping her of her black heels brought everyone's attention to her. Many gazed at her in confusion, not recognizing her, but most were locked on her eyes full of despair as she gazed down at Jiraiya's picture.

Slowly, her face lit up into a small, vulnerable smile as tears began to mix with the rain pouring down. Finally, just as the crowd's attention was beginning to wane, she spoke. "You won." She muttered, a soft pained laugh escaping her throat."You stubborn old bastard... Right down to the very end, you fought me... And you won." Tsunade, who stood beside the woman, frowned at the way she spoke about her teammate and best friend.

However, this was his funeral and it would do no justice to get angry at it. "Do not speak ill of the dead." She simply said, earning a glance from the woman who chuckled again, though there was a hint of humor in it now.

"I meant nothing by it... He's just a bastard, that's all... Going off and dying like that. I needed him, ya know." Despite her thoughts, Tsunade was having a hard time controlling her anger as she glared at the woman. Who did she think she was! Calling Jiraiya a bastard at his own funeral! She was about to voice her thoughts when she saw the woman's eyes...

Blue. Ocean deep and filled with nothing but despair. But that was not what caught Tsunade's attention... It was the shade of those blue eyes, and she could feel a familiarity coming from the woman in waves. Searching the woman's face, she found what she was looking for and her eyes widened as she saw the extremely faint whisker marks, hidden by rain and the woman's complexion, on her cheeks.

"N... Naruto?" She choked out, causing the woman to smile sadly as the crowd around gasped in surprise, and few were visibly paling after having admired the woman for her beauty.

The woman, now revealed to be none other than Naruto Uzumaki, let out a soft chuckle, "Yeah, Baa-chan. It's me... Uzumaki Naruto... Hokage to be." There was no arrogance in her voice, no rightful determination, only sadness. She turned her gaze back down to the picture of Jiraiya's grinning face and placed her hand on the glass frame.

Tsunade, overcoming her shock, quickly began to ask, "Why? Why are you..?"

"Here? Or a woman?" There was a bit of amusement in her voice, and Naruto chuckled quietly. "I'm here... because I'm his student. I'm a woman, because he wanted me to be." Confusion was evident on her face, but Naruto paid it no mind, since she intended on explaining either way. "When I first met him, I showed him this form. It's what got him interested in me, I think, or at least it was his excuse."

She let out a shuddering breath, her tears still dripping down her cheeks, though few could see that through the rain. "After that... He kept asking, begging even, for me to change into this form. I refused, over and over... I knew if I did, he'd win the fight. I couldn't let that happen; I'm was way too stubborn to let that old fool win." There was a bitter smile on her face now, and she could feel her shoulders shaking, though it was not from the cold.

"I yelled, I fought, I even begged once for him to stop. 'Stop pestering me about that form. I won't take it' I said, clear as day... And all he did was grin and say 'I'll make sure you do. For research, you understand.'" Her lips suddenly turned down as she fought back a sob, staring up at the blonde whom she referred to as 'grandmother.' "Now he's gone. But before I went to train with the toads... He asked one last time." She sobbed openly now, and Tsunade wrapped her arms around the woman, though it was an odd feeling.

Pushing her head into Tsunade's chest and sobbing, the girl continued with a choked voice, "I said no...N... no way... Not on your life... You old bastard... He just grinned, and said 'we'll see.'" She sobbed again, her ocean blue eyes staring up towards Tsunade, as if looking for something that wasn't there, "Now he's gone, and here I am. What point was there to resisting anymore? He won." Her lips twisted into a bitter smile, "Am I at least pretty enough, Baa-chan?"

Tsunade blinked twice, letting her own tears fall onto Naruto's face, and could only smile bitterly in return, holding back her own sob. "You're beautiful. He's probably smiling right now... at what a great student you are." She pulled the boy-turned-girl closer, holding her as she would her own child.

Naruto only sobbed louder, her pain open to the world.

"You should attack now, Pein, while they are distracted and in one place." A man stated miles away from Konoha, clad in a black robe with red clouds. The orange spiral mask on his face did nothing to conceal the angry red eye that glared at the orange haired man in front of him.

"No. We wait... until morning." Pein responded, closing his eyes as Tobi disappeared into the darkness, having finally given up on forcing Pein to attack Konoha, as was the plan. No, Pein would wait. He owed the man that much. He would allow Konoha to wallow in it's despair...

… And then it would know pain.

The End

So people are probably going to go "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" I honestly have no idea. I wrote one day, completely out of no where, and then left it. Then, months later, I saw the title in my "unfinished" story folder, which is getting pretty big, and said "Huh, what's this?" Then I read it, got interested again, and finished it up. So here it is: Tears of the Goddess. I believe I got the inspiration from Grand Chase's character Amy, who has an attack that goes by this name. I won't spare you the details of the move, but for those who didn't get the meaning of this story, it's rather simple.

Naruto has dealt with the loss of Jiraiya, by giving the old man what he constantly pestered him for.

Now, for those who want to be all _Naruto wasn't supposed to come back until Pein attacked_, you'd be right, but this story can be considered AU where Naruto learns faster and learned Sage Mode right after Jiraiya's death was announced, resulting in Naruto popping in with the funeral being set up.

Now for the not so easy part of posting a story... Will I update my other stories? Will I continue this one, even though I consider it a one shot? I dunno. I write a /lot/ of stories. I've got a few 100 page stories on my "unfinished" folder that I just can't... well, finish. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this little one shot. Sorry about not updating lately.

~Yasha-HebiHime~


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